They aren't nurse practitioners unless they have a MSN (master's) degree. As someone said earlier, they are trying to bump this up to a doctoral degree. In the future, you will definitely not see less quality of care in an NP. You might still get a knucklehead like you do in a physician though! Just shop around and find the right fit. I have had some really awesome ones even with a MSN. They knew when to ship me off to a specialist when I needed it.